Hi Friends of the Poudre, Your support at the end of 2024 made all the difference! And now we have our hands on the oars to paddle hard in 2025. THANK YOU!! As we move into 2025, we are completely focusing on our legal fights against the Northern Integrated Supply Project (NISP) and the Thornton Pipeline. To those ends, we have three big priorities. First, we are in a lawsuit in federal district court in Denver against the Army Corps of Engineers for giving a permit to NISP. That lawsuit will play out this year, and we're somewhat optimistic about our chances of winning. Court precedents in other legal fights are leaning our direction and we have a great team of attorneys battling in court. Second, NISP still needs a permit from the City of Fort Collins to build a massive pipeline across City Natural Areas. It appears that this permit process won’t start until Spring of 2025, but we will be thick in the fight to not only protect the Poudre River, but also protect the City’s Natural Areas that all citizens bought and paid for. Our beloved Natural Areas in Fort Collins and Larimer County SHOULD NOT be sacrifice zones for river destruction and sprawl in Weld County which is where the pipeline would take most of the water. Finally, we are in a lawsuit against the Larimer County Commissioners for giving a permit to the Thornton Pipeline. That lawsuit will also play out this year, and again, we have a great legal team fighting on our side. Throughout these battles, we continue to argue that these projects should “use the Poudre River as the conveyance” for the water rather than put it in massive pipelines north of Fort Collins. Once the water goes into a pipe, it never comes out again to flow down the Poudre. Further, once the pipelines are built, more and more water can be sent through pipes rather than down the Poudre. These pipelines will drain and destroy the river over time as more and more farm water is transferred to growing towns and cities, which is the long-term trend across the Front Range and in northern Colorado. We call this the “Poudre River Option” and it is the key to keeping the Poudre alive as towns and cities across the northern metro area – including the City of Thornton – continue to raid rivers and farms to supply water and fuel growth. 2025 is our 21st year of this fight which could go on for a few more years in these court battles. We are committed to getting the best outcome for the Poudre River that local residents holds dear. PLEASE KNOW – Your past support has made all of the difference in our ability to fight these battles and we are still fighting hard in 2025!. THANK YOU!! Mark Easter, Chair of the Board; Gary Wockner, Executive Director
Save The Poudre: Patagonia Matching Grant, $10,000!
Hi Poudre River Lovers!
We have good news. Our wonderful partners at Patagonia, the outdoor gear/apparel company, will match your donation to Save The Poudre, up to $10,000, starting today through the end of 2019.
The donation link is here:
https://www.patagonia.com/actionworks/grantees/save-the-poudre-poudre-waterkeeper/donate/
Patagonia will securely process your donation and then transfer the money to Save The Poudre.
We are especially excited to partner with Patagonia in this matching grant campaign because they are one of the leading voices on the planet for fighting dams and protecting rivers. Patagonia is also one of our leading funders!
What did Save The Poudre accomplish in 2019?
- Helped stop the Thornton Pipeline dead in its tracks!
- Intervened in state district court against the City of Thornton to defend the Larimer County Commissioners against Thornton’s lawsuit.
- Saw through the construction of the amazing Poudre River Whitewater Park, a project that we initiated back in 2010!
- Filed a lawsuit in federal district court in Colorado to stop the proposed Windy Gap Water Project in Colorado.
- Intervened with the Larimer County permitting process against the Northern Integrated Supply Project (“NISP”), the massive proposed dam project we’ve been fighting for 17 years.
- Intervened with the State of Colorado permitting project against NISP.
- Filed more comments with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers against NISP.
- Kept the Poudre River’s voice alive to the public, in the media, and throughout the northern Colorado region.
- And more!
When you donate to Save The Poudre, we get right to work! Patagonia Action Works is a wonderful partner putting your money into action.
Please donate here through Patagonia Action Works and help us protect this amazing river!
The donation link is here:
https://www.patagonia.com/actionworks/grantees/save-the-poudre-poudre-waterkeeper/donate/
Thank you for your support!
Gary Wockner, Director, Save The Poudre.